Should India have included Mohammed Shami in T20 WC squad?

After a not-so-successful Asia Cup campaign, the BCCI announced India’s squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. The Indian team had a miserable time at the marquee event last year, where they lost their first two games against Pakistan and New Zealand, which virtually put curtains on their dreams of moving further in the tournament.

This time around, the team has named a strong 15-member squad in addition to the four reserve players. And one name in that list of four, that shook the cricketing fraternity was Mohammed Shami. The veteran pacer did not have a memorable outing last year, but he put up an impressive show at the IPL 2022 which made him a prospect in the 20-over format.

But did India make the right call by not including him in the main roaster? Many have said that Mohammad Shami could have replaced Arshdeep Singh in the main squad and the youngster could have been kept as a reserve player instead.

But to go by the numbers, Arshdeep, in a short time, has impressed everyone with his skills and earned his place in the squad rightfully. His numbers have been decent, but the major factor that has been attractive about him is the ability to handle pressure during the death overs.

Shami is unquestionably a bowler of the highest calibre, but in the recent past, India has had players who have stepped up. The line was commanded by Bhuvneshwar Kumar while Jasprit Bumrah is a sure first-choice. Harshal Patel and Arshdeep are wicket-taking bowlers and offer variation at the death.

Shami hasn’t been much of a regular, therefore he failed to earn the main spot. Shami has been absent after making his T20I debut back in 2014. In over eight years, he has only played in 17 T20Is and has 18 wickets for a pitiful average of 31.55. Given the characteristics of Australian surfaces, he also poses a concern due to his high economy rate of 9.54.

Well, the numbers do the talking. India can experiment on Indian soil, given the players are so very much used to playing in the different conditions at home. But that cannot be done on foreign soil, especially if it is a global event like a World Cup, which the Indian side has been working hard to claim but the Men in Blue have not been able to.